Wednesday Afternoon Free Play

Hope & Ayme playing with cars & trucks

Alyssa playing a number game on Miss Follett's tablet

Cally building a "tent"

Sarah entering the "tent"

Sarah, Cally and Ella having fun with their "tent"!

Questions That Haunt Me

I got this through email today, and thought I'd post it on my blog for more people to enjoy. Hope it brings a smile to someone's face as it did mine!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Can you cry under water?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

Why do you have to 'put your two cents in'... but it's only a 'penny for your thoughts'? Where's that extra penny going to?

Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours?
They're both dogs!

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?

Why did you just try singing the two songs above? (Please tell me I wasn't the only one who did this!)

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Why, Why, Why

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting dead?

Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they know there is not enough money?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, 'It's all right?' Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, 'That really hurt, why don't you watch where you're going?'

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

And my FAVORITE......
The statistics on sanity is that one out of every four persons are suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

Where Did the Summer Go To?

In 2001, my family went to Prince Edward Island on vacation. Such a lovely place! While there, we went to a musical production of Anne of Green Gables, and one of the songs in the musical was entitled, "Where Did the Summer Go To?"

Even though that was 10 years ago now (wow!), we STILL find ourselves singing that song around this time of the year as the summer quickly comes to an end. Where DID the summer go to? It's been quite the busy summer! June was Kindergarten graduation, high school graduation, graduation parties, etc. and so forth. July was filled with Vacation Bible School every Wednesday night, and of course, our NY vacation!! At the end of July I went to a friend's wedding, and just last weekend to another friend's wedding. Quite the wedding season around here, and 2012 will bring even more friends' weddings. Life is changing *happy/sad sniff* :-)

August has simply zoooooooomed on by! It is hard to believe that the new school year starts next Monday already. This year, my schedule doesn't change that much, so the new school year really won't affect me. Weird! Last year at this time I was busy getting ready for Kindergarten. My, how things change.

On August 1st, Alayna officially turned 16. Although the big celebration was back in June, we celebrated her actual birthday with some presents and a cupcake tower.

I wanted to do something special for Alayna for her 16th birthday. My present was simply a card, with a special invitation inside....

Some of you already know what it is, but for the rest of my blog readers, I covered up the card with ?????? because I love to leave people hanging...(although I hate when that happens to me...hmmmmmm). You'll just have to wait till next Saturday to discover what special invitation was in that card!

Oh! So that's my problem!

This afternoon Juliana was showing me how she can write with both her left hand and her right hand. Because I like to see eyes widen in amazement when I use big, impressive-sounding words, I attempted to say, "Wow, you are ambidextrous!"

But my tongue wouldn't let me.

After several unsuccessful attempts to get my mouth around the word, Leah looks at me in sympathy and says, "Maybe you have to be married in order to say that word."

:-)

Who would have thought THAT was my problem??!!! My kiddos teach me something new every day! :-)

(After some tongue exercises, I am now able to successfully say "ambidextrous". Apparently, this does not fall under the "Married-Only" word category after all!)

January 14, 2011

What was so significant about January 14, 2011?

Well, first, and most importantly, it was my Mom's birthday! She turned....well, if you followed my blog a year ago, you know how old she turned yesterday. My kiddos were making birthday cards for her in school and while they were doing this, I happened to be organizing our number flashcards. I showed them the number of how old my Mom was turning, and their eyes got huge - "THAT'S OLD!" they all exclaimed. (Of course, any number in the double digits for a 5-year-old is old, so my Mom wasn't too offended when I told her (I think)!). We celebrated her birthday by going out to eat, enjoying some cake and ice cream, and then playing some good ole' Apples to Apples.

Secondly, January 14, 2011, marked the end of the second quarter of school. This means that the school year is halfway over already! Where has the time gone?! My kiddos are doing awesome, and I am looking forward to the second half of the school year as their reading comprehension continues to develop, and they discover the wonders of adding and subtracting. :-)

Lastly, January 14, 2011, was the beginning of the spring semester at LCCC. I love that it is considered the spring semester, and yet it is in the dead of winter! Anyway, I have actually been looking forward to this particular online class I am taking. It's focusing on Quickbooks, the computer program that I use for both of my accounting jobs, so it is bound to be useful! I am also hoping that since I kinda have a head start in the Quickbooks world, it won't be too challenging...haha :-)

Hopefully, I will be back to posting a lot more soon. I can't believe it's halfway through January already, and this is my first blog entry of the year! I actually haven't had all 4 of my students in school at the same time since Christmas break. There has been a lot of sickness going around, and either one or the other has been sick. :-( Also, there have been 2 snow days already, so that makes it even more challenging to do fun things in Kindergarten when you are trying to play catch-up! Hopefully, next week Kindergarten will be back to "normal" (whatever that may be!) and I'll be back to posting about our adventures!

Playing Ball with Daisy

Daisy LOVES her tennis balls! We have had so much fun playing ball with her. Watching her run after the balls and bring them back to us still amazes us quite a bit because Christy never saw the need to do such things! Give her a tennis ball and she would just tear it to shreds! Oh well :-) Daisy on the other hand is quite attached to them. So when I took her outside today, I thought I would snap some pictures of her and her beloved tennis balls. :-)

I want that ball...


I want that ball so badly I can almost taste it...(notice the tongue!)

See! I'll always bring it back to you!

If I can find it...

And if I don't have to travel too too far!

Pleeeeeease!! Throw it just one more time!!

Okay, I need to catch my breath for a bit.

Study Buddy?

Do you know how hard it is to concentrate on income tax accounting homework when you have an adorable dog laying down at your feet?!

10/10/10

I simply HAD to post something on 10/10/10 - the absolutely perfect even-number day! :-)

Yesterday, at our Pastor's Appreciation Banquet, we got to view a new video that was put together for our church website. A lot of our church members had a part in it, so that makes it really special and unique. Enjoy!

Who Are We? - Lehigh Valley Baptist Church from LVBaptist on Vimeo.

The Job that Best Fits Me

I am pleased to announce that a Facebook quiz has yet again helped me discover more about myself. Seriously, what would we do without Facebook quiz revelations?!! :o)

I took the What job best fits you? quiz and got: Teacher

Children and education are your passion. Seeing a little child cry breaks your heart and your goal in life is to make a difference for somebody. You are the sweetheart with your heart on your sleeve and almost everybody loves you. The smell of new books excites you and you spend more time at the school than you do at home.

Just Keep Swimming

So this has been an interesting summer so far! I have crammed tons of information into my cranium in regards to these online classes. The accounting world is indeed a complicated world, but I love it because it is an ORGANIZED world! Seriously, the men and women who invented these concepts must have either been extremely organized, or extremely OCD! I still have two major projects due before the classes are over, so right now feelings of "overwhelmed-ness" are creeping in. I have been trying - this week especially - to work ahead in other things so I can dedicate all my brain cells to these projects. It's amazing how inspired I feel when I post the calendar with things due right in front of me. Why didn't I think of this sooner?

Today my worlds came crashing together as I contemplated the fact that in a little more than a month, I will be a school teacher, a secretary (2 jobs), and a student of accounting all at the same time!! (Of course they all start with an S (smile)) It was a rather mind-swirling thought! However, I decided to take Dori's advice from the movie Finding Nemo and am going to just keep swimming! :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmyUkm2qlhA

Bud to Blossom

I made sure that I didn't miss the beauty of full bloom this time!

Some Non-Related Ramblings

My blog has been rather silent as of late. Of course, it is mostly due to the fact that I haven't had much time to just sit around waiting for a "blog inspiration" to strike. It hasn't exactly been top priority! If you are rather disappointed with "Becky's Boring Blog" be sure to check back in August! Once Kindergarten starts again, I am sure this blog will be bursting with entries. :) Sooooo don't leave me yet!

Shortly after my Pop-Pop passed away, my Mom planted a yellow rose bush on the side of our house - a "memorial" of sorts as roses were one of his favorite flowers (actually orchids were his top favorite, but they require a little more TLC than a rose bush!). I just missed seeing the roses in bloom this past time. I went out tonight to take pictures of them, but they all looked a little sickly. However, I found this....a rosebud about to burst with life. Even though my Pop-Pop is gone - and I am REALLY missing him - the memories of him will always be there, full of life, just like this promising lil' rosebud.

A few weeks ago I was given the task of cleaning out and organizing the 2's and 3's junior church cabinets. Organizing and de-cluttering is always fun, but a bit intimidating at first. The high school students found it quite amusing to see me down in the classroom with a bunch of toys and puzzles surrounding me - no, I was NOT playing! One of the things we had in an over-abundance was crayons. Big crayons, little crayons, chewed-up crayons, dusty crayons, long crayons, short crayons - every type of crayon imaginable! Obviously, there was no need to keep that many crayons, so I loaded all of them up in a big container and brought them home. Alayna and my mom helped me out by sorting them. I took one container, filled with good crayons, back to the cabinets. However, that left me with 2 buckets of short, broken crayons. I decided that I was not going to throw them away, but I was going to melt them down and make chunky rainbow crayons (using a cupcake pan). Of course, lots of the crayons still had paper on them so I would have to peel that off first. What I thought was only going to take me an hour or so, ended up taking me a few nights! Oh well! Alayna and I had some movie nights while we peeled crayon paper. Such fun :) Anywho, last night I peeled the last crayon paper off the last crayon!! It was indeed an exciting moment :) Now I just have to melt them all down which may take awhile. There are A LOT of crayons!! Did I happen to mention that already??

College classes are going okay. I feel like I spend every "spare" minute working on something for my classes. Summer courses are a bit crazy because everything is condensed into 10 weeks, when normally there is at least 17 weeks or so to do all the work. So yeah, I am a little busy! Looking ahead at the rest of the summer, I am cringing a bit with all I have to get done, but I know it WILL get done! It took me a couple weeks to finally get into the "swing of things" and get organized, but I think I am finally there. Google desktop is helping me stay organized. I have a "to-do list" on my desktop, so I will be constantly reminded of what has to get done each day. I only have discussions left for today....not exactly my favorite thing to do, hence the reason it is still on my to-do list!!

So that about sums up my exciting life as of right now. :) It is mostly just work and school....yeah, feels like I am going back in time a bit, but that is okay! I will be glad I took these classes...someday :) Oh, I did do something else besides schoolwork today....I cleaned my room! That was a thrilling experience, I must say. Did you know that baking soda and vinegar helps to get a bathroom sink unclogged?! You learn something new every day!!

The Reality of It All...

This is my second week of online classes. I am sitting here at my laptop. I should be studying the chapter in my business class to get ready for the quiz, and I will.....eventually. :)

Ah, yes, the excitement of college life has dimmed ever so slightly. Well, it's had its flickering moments, and last Monday - on the first day of classes - the power went completely out for awhile. As I sat there, looking at all the assignments due, the reality of college life came sweeping in on me and I started to really question my sanity. WHAT WAS I THINKING??? I had forgotten what it felt like. Oh, I still want to learn. I find my classes very interesting, but I forgot the "college pressure" - the pressure to get all the assignments done, the pressure to get good grades, the pressure to figure out what I am going to do for a major project.

My brain doesn't feel like studying right now. I would much rather curl up on my bed with a good book, watch a movie, or even play a computer game or two. But that would just be a waste of time :) One of the reasons I decided to take some online classes during the summer is so I wouldn't waste time. My work load has died down a lot because of school being over, so I knew I would have more time on my hands this summer. The temptation to waste the time I would be given would be great if I didn't find something with which to occupy myself. I figured taking some college classes would insure that I wouldn't have time to waste. I would spend my hours learning.

Oh, it sounded great and everything before classes actually started, but now reality had hit me right between the eyes. Reading 40 page chapters, studying key terms, memorizing concepts and writing research papers just isn't fun! But who said everything in life had to be fun? Learning new things is good for me. I may not always enjoy it, and the "exciting college lights" may flicker at times or even go completely out, but that doesn't mean I quit. Believe me - last Monday when reality came crashing in, and I realized what I had committed to, I was sorely tempted to just withdraw. I felt like I couldn't do it. Why should I have to? I already have a degree. Why did I do this to myself? Am I insane? I finally have some more free time and I am spending it - studying? But I decided (after a sleepless night of questioning my sanity) that I just needed to take one day at a time, one study session at a time, one quiz at a time. Last week was an EXTREMELY busy week at one of my jobs, so I knew that I couldn't judge the first week of classes by what it would really be like. As Abraham Lincoln said, "The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time."

So here I am. And now, I must stop procrastinating and start learning about the foundations of business :) Oh joy!

Textbooks = Excitement??

My textbooks for my online classes came today in the mail!

According to the estimated delivery dates, they weren't expected to arrive until May 24-28. This had me a little concerned seeing how my classes start on May 24. There is just something secure about having the textbooks in hand on the first day of class. ;-)

When Andy informed me that a rather heavy package had arrived in the mail today, I shouted "Hallelujah!" much to my brother's amazement. He was like, 'You are THAT excited about textbooks arriving?'

Well, I am sure once classes start and the official studying begins, I might not be that enthusiastic about having my textbooks, but for now, its one more thing to check off my list as I prepare for college life once again.

She Looks So Cold!!

My poor lil' car doesn't know what hit it today!

She is being used as a "measurement gauge" so we can see how much snow we are actually getting.

I just feel so sorry for her out in the cold.

Maybe I should bring her some hot chocolate and a nice warm blanket.

After all, cars have feelings too, ya know. Remember Herbie? :)

Name That Picture

Any ideas what these are used for?

I'll give you a clue - I still have "teacher" on the brain!!!

Old Farmer's Advice

A friend sent this to me through email the other day. Some of the advice was pretty good so I thought I would share!

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.

Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.

Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.

Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.

You cannot unsay a cruel word.

Every path has a few puddles.

When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.

Don't judge folks by their relatives.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Live a good, honorable life...then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.

Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.

Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

Lettin' the cat outta' the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.

If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around...

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.
Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

A Great Recipe for Every Day

A friend gave my Mom a list of things that you should do every day to make up a "great recipe" for that day. I am just going to list a few of them that really stood out to me!

~ Try to make at least three people smile each day.

~ Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

~ Life isn't fair, but it' still good.

~ Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

~ Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

~ Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

~ What other people think of you is none of your business.

~ God heals everything - but you have to ask Him.

~ However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

~ Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

Bedroom "Remodeling" - My Transformed Room

So where did I leave off? Oh, yeah! I had just walked down the basement steps, wondering why both my Mom and Alayna were coming down as well. Little did I know that they were waiting to see my reaction! After seeing that more stuff had been added to the garbage heap outside my room, I realized that Andy must have put my bed together!!!

With baited breath, I entered my room....

My eyes about popped right out of their sockets. "Wow!!" is literally all I could say for the next 10 minutes or so. The online pictures I had looked at before purchasing my bed had not done it justice (let me warn you...neither will the following pictures!) My new bed is HUGE!! I literally have to jump up to get on my bed. What a transformation!!! I went from a little girl/teenager bed to a grown-up lady bed. :)

Here are some before and after pictures!!

Before....

After...

Before...

After...

Bedroom "Remodeling" Part 4

Last night we went to the store to pick up my bedroom set. Let's just say, it was a tight squeeze, but between my brother's car and our van, they were able to get everything to fit!!

When we got home, then came the fun task of transporting everything down our basement steps. My Dad and brother are my heroes once again because with much determination and perseverance everything was able to get down there in record time!!

My room was then overcome by boxes!

The box with my dresser inside was the hardest to transport because it was so huge. Once they got it down in my room, my Dad was able to rip apart the box on the one side so we could slide it on out. I spent the rest of the night organizing my NEW dresser!! It's pretty amazing, let me tell you!!

It was getting late, so they decided to leave putting together my bed for another time. I didn't mind. I was just trying to get used to all the new things in my room!

This is what our basement looked like last night after getting some of the boxes, my one chair, and my old dresser & nightstand out of my room.

However, this is what I saw when I came down the steps after work today. Hmmmmmm....definitely something was added to the heap. Then it hit me...Andy must have put together my bed this morning!!!!

I walked in my room, and my eyes about popped right out of their sockets. The only thing I could say for the next 10 minutes or so was "wow....wow...Wow....WOW!!

However, you are going to have to wait until a later time to see how it looks. :) I want to wait till they set up my dresser mirror before I post pictures.

Let me just assure you of one thing...it looks pretty awesome!! I will feel like a princess tonight...hmmmm....not a princess....a QUEEN!!